Saturday, December 31, 2011

Legendary Spanish voice actor Rogelio Hernández died today in Spain December 31, 2011 of cancer. Born in Barcelona on December 25, 1930, he started out as a stage actor in Madrid, before resettling in Barcelona, where he became a much-employed baritone dubbing actor, the regular voice of Marlon Brando, Michael Caine and, subsequently, Jack Nicholson, he excelled in anti-heroic voices. His other work includes Tony Curtis in “Some Like it Hot”, Dirk Bogarde in “The Night Porter” and Joe Spinell in “Maniac”. In 2008, he retired due to eyesight problems. He is survived by his wife, Rosa Guiñón and his daughter, Rosa María Hernández, both likewise voice actors.

Friday, December 30, 2011

Longtime Santa Paula resident, Roland Jack Totheroh, died May 20, 2011, at age 96.
Born in the East San Francisco Bay area community of Niles on Aug. 28, 1914, Jack was the son of pioneer film cameraman Roland Totheroh and Ida Chaix, a sheepherder's daughter from the Livermore mountains. Before Jack's second birthday, the family moved to Hollywood, where Jack grew up and graduated from Hollywood High School in 1932. After a short stint as a Depression-era courier for the Federal Reserve Bank, Jack continued his education at Chapman College where he was elected Student Body President his senior year (BA 1940). He deemed it his responsibility as President to meet all new co-eds, which is how he met his wife Marian. They were married just short of 70 years.
He earned a Master of Arts in Education at USC in 1951. Jack began his teaching career at Antelope Valley HS and Junior College (1941-44), followed by a position at Jordan High School in Los Angeles (1944-45) before moving with Marian and their then two young sons, Steve and Dan, to Santa Paula. He began teaching at Santa Paula High School in the fall of 1945. Their third son, David, was born two years later. Many current Santa Paula residents remember Mr. Totheroh as their Civics teacher, Senior Class Advisor or School Counselor who helped them discover their own potential. In 1952 he moved to a position as Secondary Curriculum Consultant for the Ventura County Superintendent of Schools. In 1953 that position evolved into Director of Guidance, then Director of Guidance and Research, then Director of Research and Testing. From 1955 through 1966 Jack also served as a part-time consultant to the Director of Pupil Personnel Services in the State of California.
From 1959 to 1965 Jack was Director of Data Processing for Ventura County Schools. From 1965 through his retirement in 1984, Jack became Regional Director of one of only three fledgling Data Processing Centers under the California State Department of Education, at one time serving 150,000 students throughout California and even in British Columbia. Jack was very proud of having run the Center within budget and at significant savings to the school districts served, claiming that his most significant talent was "being smart enough to hire people smarter than I am and then getting out of their way."
During retirement Jack volunteered as a docent at the Santa Paula Oil Museum. He served on the 1988-89 Ventura County Grand Jury. And in 1991 he was honored by the Santa Paula Union High School Alumni Association as their retired 'Teacher of the Year.' In 2008 Jack and his wife were presented with the 'Community Service Award' by the Santa Paula Rotary Club. Totheroh is survived by wife, Marian; sons, Steve, Dan, and David; granddaughters, Joanna Valadez, Kathryn, and Heather; grandson-in-law, Pepe Valadez; and great-grandson, Joaquin Valadez.
The family would like to thank all of Jack's friends, his exercise partners at the Easter Seals Pool, and the wonderful people at Assisted Home Care, all of whom helped make Jack's last years and months both pleasant and meaningful, and most especially thank Yolanda Guerrero, whose most tender and giving care made even his last months and days comfortable, dignified and respectful.

Tuesday, December 27, 2011

There were a great many supporting actors and actresses who performed during the days of Hollywood's Golden Age and some had contributions to specific thier studios or the film history of a household name. One of which was the late Louise Henry. She was born on June 14, 1911 in Syracuse, New York as Jessie Louise Hieman to Swedish immigrants who came to America for a better life. With the coming of the Depression in the 1930s Louise decided to leave her hometown which was suffering from crippling effects brought on by economic turmoil and like many during that time she came to Hollywood in search for stardom. She got employment at MGM Studios and after some tests and vocal training she made her debut in Paris Interlude. She then appeared as a nightclub singer in Hide-Out with Robert Montgomery. She appreared in approximatley 21 films between 1934 and 1939 and she co-starred opposite such reigning stars as Clark Gable, Joan Crawford, James Stewart, Ricardo Cortez, Virginia Bruce, and others.

In 1935 when Anita Loos backed out of writing a script for a motion picture called Remember Last Night? Louise jumped in and helped with the script formation. She had a lead role in Remember Last Night? but her writing wasn't attributed with the credits at that time. She later became close friends with her other lead costars, Robert Young and Constance Cummings. In the late 1930s she appeared in several Charlie Chan mysteries either as a Girl Friday or a suspect. In 1939 after she completed Charlie Chan in Reno Louise chose not to renew her MGM contract and with enough financial security that included Studio Income, Pension, and stock investments in film, oil, and real estate she returned to her home roots that same year and she bought a mansion like home in the fashionable and rich Meadowbrook neighboorhood in Syracuse.

In 1941 she opened her own Drama Classes until 1979 when she retiered a second time. She also dabbled in Republican politics, even admitting later that she took her screen name in honor of Mrs. Herbert Hoover, and was active spiritually in the Atonement Lutheran Church. She never married or had any children of her own but she considered her MGM friends, neighbors, and congregation members to be like a family. In a 2010 phone interview she was asked what her secret was to having lived a long life; she later said it came from a good diet, religious faith, and having a good laugh at least once a day. On Monday, December 12, 2011 in the comfort of her lavish home and loving live-in nurse and secretary, Louise Henry passed away in a sweet repose at the age of 100 from complications of advanced age.

At her memorial service held on Friday, December 16, 2011 at the Atonement Lutheran Church her secretary said, "Louise was one of the unsung heroines of the original Hollywood. She acted, sang, and danced and she even wrote a script. Though her time in the spotlight may have been short her time in the sight of the Lord was great, rewarding, and wonderful". Following the service she was laid to rest at the Woodlawn Cemetery in Syracuse, New York. In the end Louise was considered to be a true star by those who knew her and she was well recieved by those in her prime who had succeeded her.

Monday, December 26, 2011

Armendáriz Jr. was born in Mexico City, the son of actors Carmelita (née Pardo) and Pedro Armendáriz. He has been married to actress Ofelia Medina.

Armendáriz has appeared in over 100 movies. Among them are The Magnificent Seven Ride, El Crimen del Padre Amaro, Matando Cabos and La ley de Herodes, and played Don Pedro in The Mask of Zorro and The Legend of Zorro. He also had small roles in Earthquake (film) (1974), Tombstone and Amistad.

Both Armendáriz and his father appeared in James Bond movies. The elder Armendáriz appeared in From Russia with Love in 1963, while Pedro Jr. appeared in 1989's Licence to Kill. Also both actors portrayed Pancho Villa, the senior Armendáriz on several movies and Pedro Armendáriz Jr in Old Gringo (Spanish: Gringo Viejo) opposite Gregory Peck and Jimmy Smits. Interestingly, Pedro Armendáriz Jr also portrayed Pancho Villa's enemy Luis Terrazas in the film And Starring Pancho Villa as Himself opposite Antonio Banderas.

Thursday, December 22, 2011

Ginny Shook posted toThe High Chaparral Reunion
Sorry to have to share the sad news that Ted Markland passed away on December 18th. His spirituality was one of the most important parts of his life, always pursing what was beyond life as we know it, so there is no doubt he is enjoying his soul's next great adventure. There will be a memorial service for him on January 15th, his birthday. Riders coming!

Wednesday, December 21, 2011

LOS ANGELES — Robert Easton, a character actor whose command of a vast
array of foreign and American regional accents led to a flourishing
second career as a dialect coach to Hollywood stars such as Charlton
Heston and Anne Hathaway, has died. He was 81.

Often called the Henry Higgins of Hollywood, he died of natural causes
Friday at his home in Los Angeles, said his daughter, Heather Woodruff
Perry.

A consummate phoneticist like Higgins, the exacting speech tutor in
the musical "My Fair Lady," Easton taught Forest Whitaker the African
inflections of Ugandan dictator Idi Amin and Ben Kingsley the gruff
tones of a New York mobster. He helped Arnold Schwarzenegger turn his
Austrian accent into Russian English and Liam Neeson's Irish brogue
into a Kentucky drawl. He once coached Heston from a bathtub in
Munich, helping the actor pronounce his lines like a Scot.

When actor Robert Duvall signed on to play Confederate commander
Robert E. Lee in the movie "Gods and Generals" several years ago, he
wanted Easton to help him sound authentically Virginian. The affable
coach quickly became popular with the rest of the cast.
"They said, 'We want Virginia accents,' " Duvall recalled in an
interview Wednesday. "Bob said, 'Which one? There are 12 distinct
accents, from the Piedmont to the ocean.' He knew them all.

"He was a wonderful man, a very unique personality, and a master at
his craft."

Despite recent health problems, Easton continued to coach via
telephone and tape recorder. "A month ago, he did an entire script on
tape for John Travolta," his daughter said.

Born Robert Easton Burke in Milwaukee on Nov. 23, 1930, Easton
developed an awareness of speech as a child struggling to tame a
stutter. When he was 7, his parents split up and he moved with his
mother to San Antonio. Noticing how Texans tend to draw out their
speech, he trained himself to talk more slowly, which enabled him to
control his stammer.

At 14, he auditioned for a spot on the popular radio program "Quiz
Kids" and toured the country with the cast of child prodigies. By 18,
the lanky, 6-foot-4 teenager was winning parts in Hollywood, mainly
playing country bumpkins because of his thick Texas drawl. He appeared
on "The Burns and Allen Show," "Father Knows Best," "The Jack Benny
Show," "The Red Skelton Show," "Wagon Train," "Rawhide" and
"Gunsmoke."

Fearful of being typecast as the slow-witted deputy or hillbilly
cousin, he decided to work on different accents to broaden his
opportunities. He discovered he had a facility for mimicking regional
speech patterns.

In 1961, after marrying June Grimstead, he moved with her to her
native England and began studying phonetics at University College in
London. He had absorbed a number of European accents by the time he
returned to Hollywood three years later. Fellow actors, impressed by
his new ability, asked him to teach them. Before long, he had a side
business as an accent tutor that quickly grew into his main
occupation.

He learned over the years to adapt to his clients' different learning
styles. He found some actors, such as Robin Williams, had strong
auditory ability and could pick up accents by listening and repeating.

Others were more visual and needed to work with phonetic scripts. "He
found a way to spell things," said Whitaker, who called Easton an
artist who understood the vibration and power of words. "We
established our own language."

Still others were more physically inclined, such as Patrick Swayze,
who had been trained in dance. For that type of student, Easton told
the Chicago Tribune in 1992, "I talk to them about the difference in
mouth position, what happens with the vocal cords, how it makes the
voice more or less nasal."

He expanded his repertoire during his foreign travels, absorbing the
speech rhythms of local cabdrivers, shopkeepers and hotel guests. He
often enlisted his wife in his studies, motioning her to continue
chatting up an unsuspecting subject while he took notes.

His wife died in 2005 after 44 years of marriage. He is survived by
his daughter and a granddaughter.

Wherever Easton went, he prowled bookstores, eventually turning his
home into a linguist's paradise with an estimated 500,000 volumes
about the languages and cultures of the world. Bags and boxes of books
spilled into every conceivable corner, as well as a few surprising
places.

"He had two 'retired' cars in the driveway," his daughter said. "Guess
what's inside them? He was a bit eccentric about his books." She hopes
to establish a library to make them available to actors and scholars.

In between his coaching assignments, Easton taught at the University
of California, Los Angeles and the University of Southern California.
He also continued to work as an actor in movies such as "Paint Your
Wagon," "Pete's Dragon," "Pet Sematary II" and "Primary Colors." He
played a Klingon judge in "Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered
Country" (1991).

As a dialect coach, he also worked with non-celebrities, such as the
New York lawyer who was losing cases in California because juries,
hearing his nasal, rapid speech, judged him slick and impatient. After
he learned to speak more slowly and improve his tonal quality, he
started winning cases, according to Easton.

In one of his toughest assignments, the dialect doctor helped Japanese
actress Yoko Shimada in the TV miniseries "Shogun." She spoke no
English and turned words like "order" into "odor," but after three
weeks of work with Easton she re-recorded her mangled pronunciations
and went on to win a Golden Globe award in 1981.

"I'm a great believer in the principle that there's no wastage in the
universe," Easton told the Los Angeles Times in 1992. "So when I work
with somebody who is foreign who's trying to lose their accent, I can
always give their old dialect to somebody else."

Victor Manuel "El Guero" Castro Arozamena, father and promoter of Mexican movie files (from 1975 to the mid-90), died yesterday at age 87, of respiratory arrest. His remains will be cremated before noon today, to rest in the Church of St. Thomas More.

With the loss of "El Guero" Castro, an era of film has ended. As an actor, screenwriter, film director and producer, whose films, reflected the reality of the thriving nightlife in the country and was a major employer of over 80-year-tapes, home of the likes of Alberto Rojas 'El Caballo', Alfonso Zayas, Rafael Inclan, Humberto Elizondo, Eduardo "El Mimo", Luis de Alba, Sasha Montenegro, Hector Lechuga Lorena Herrera and Carmen Salinas.

With a history of more than 53 years, born in the neighborhood of Tepito, was veiled in an agency of Felix Cuevas, in the chapel 3. He is survived by: His wife, Estela Mendoza, his daughters, Jacqueline Silvia (wife of Manuel "Flaco" Ibanez), Paty (Cesar Bono's wife), Liliana and Lizbeth and their grandchildren.

Victor Manuel "El Guero" Castro covered all areas of entertainment, debuted as an actor in the films "Voices of Spring" (1941) and "Love sold" (1951), as director with "pulque" (1981) and "The pulquería 2 "(1982), as a writer" Aladdin and the Wonderful Lamp "(1958)," Beautiful Night "(1971, emanating from the play" The filename ")," Cabaret Nights "(1978)," The Loving "(1979)," Midnight Dolls "(1979)," A male in the salon "(1987) and more than a hundred.

His daughter Jacqueline Castro Ibanez said this that the teaching that lets your father, recently honored by the ANDA throughout a brilliant career, "is the joy of life, love everyone and was her sense of humor, which led him to his last breath. "

For actor and former leader of the ANDA, Humberto Elizondo, the loss of Victor Manuel "El Guero" Castro, is irreplaceable, "gave me a lot of work in comedy. I would say that he made the film the reality of that time."

Mario Casillas, president of ANDI said: "This news makes me very sad. It is regrettable loss. It hurts a lot. And my greatest love Jackie and her husband Manuel 'Flaco' Ibáñez, the loss of this great artist."

Sunday, December 18, 2011

Veteran film and television actor Dan Frazer, best known for his role as Captain Frank McNeil on the 1970s television series "Kojak," has died in New York. He was 90.

Frazer's daughter, Susanna Frazer, said Sunday her father died of cardiac arrest Dec. 16 at his home in Manhattan. She described him as a "very truthful, naturalistic actor."

Frazer started playing character roles in various television series and films in the 1950s. His films include "Cleopatra Jones," "Take the Money and Run" "Gideon's Trumpet" and "Deconstructing Harry." Besides "Kojak," Frazer's television appearances include "Car 54, Where Are You," "Route 66," "Barney Miller" and "Law & Order."

He was a member of The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and an adviser to The Workshop Theatre Co.

FRAZER, Dan (Daniel Frazer)Born: 11/20/1921, New York City, New York, U.S.A.Died: 12/16/2011, New York City, New York, U.S.A.

Donald Sharp the Tasmanian-born director, screenwriter, who began his career as an actor died on December 2011. Sharp was born on April 19, 1922 in Hobart, Tasmania, Australia and came to Britain after World War II where he went to work with Group Three. He began directing low budget thrillers and musicals in the mid ‘50s including “The Golden Disc” (1958), “The Adventures of Hal 5” (1958), and “It’s all Happening” (1963), before graduating to genre films. Don’s first for Hammer being “Kiss of the Vampire” (1963). Sharp was also responsible for the stunning second unit work on “Those Magnificent Men in their Flying Machines” (1965) and “Puppet on a Chain” (1970), as well as such films as “Witchcraft” (1964), “The Face of Fu Manchu” (1965), “The Brides of Fu Manchu” (1966), “Taste of Excitement” (1969), “Psychomania” (1972), “The Thirty-Nine Steps” (1978) and “Bear Island” (1979). TV work includes the popular mini-series A Woman of Substance and TV sequels.

Saturday, December 17, 2011

Actor Lorenzo Eleazar Garcia Gutierrez, who was best known as Chelelo Jr. died during the early hours of Wednesday at the General Hospital in this border city, Tijuana, officials of the hospital.

The artist, originally from the city of Reynosa, Tamaulipas, 53 years old, according to the medical report, died of chronic renal failure by diabetic complications.

García Gutiérrez, film director, born on December 13, 1957 and had the chance to work with people from the likes of Antonio Aguilar also deceased, who was also his friend.

Eleazar Garcia participated in films such as The Fall of Colossus, The Mayor, all were brave, shark and Boots ... wild Texan and bullets, which were productions in home video format, and whose theme usually treated on the Mafia and drug trafficking.

Brazilian actor Sérgio Britto died on December 17, 2011 at Copa D’Or Hospital at 88 years. Brito was one of the most important personalities in the history of Brazilian theater. He was currently featured on TV Brazil, Brazil Communications Company (EBC), the program with Sérgio Britto Art. Sérgio was the creator, director and star of the Grand Theatre Tupi, which aired for more than ten years in the defunct TV Tupi. The actor and director was responsible for the direction of Lost Illusions, the first telenovela produced and aired by TV Globo. But the great consecration was with the theater, where he received numerous awards. In 2010, he launched his autobiography The Theatre and I. The wake of the body of Sérgio Britto occur in the Legislative Assembly of Rio de Janeiro, in the early afternoon.

Friday, December 16, 2011

The actor Walter Giller has died. Giller, died on Thursday evening December 15, 2011 at the age of 84 years from lung cancer.

The actor was born in 1927 in Recklinghausen and raised in Hamburg. Already in 1947 he was with the Hamburg Chamber of playing on stage, he later starred in over 80 feature films. He was, among other things for the remake of the Heinz Rühmann films "Three from the gas station" (1955) and "The Feuerzangenbowle" (1970) in front of the camera in "Charley's Aunt" (1956) and "The Captain from Koepenick "(1956) he played together with Rühmann. He also starred in the television series "The Love Boat" with.

For his role as a former Army private first class in "Roses for the Prosecutor" Giller was awarded the 1960 National Film Award, in 2000 he was honored with his wife, Nadja Tiller [1929- ], with the Federal Cross of Merit.

Giller and Tiller were already in the 1950s and 1960s a dream couple among German actors. The two actors were married in 1956 and had two children together. Since 2008, Giller and Tiller lived in a Hamburg retirement home.

Thursday, December 15, 2011

John Higgins, an actor, director, producer and dialect coach, died Nov. 11 of oral cancer in Fremont, Calif. He was 71.
Australia-born Higgins made his professional acting debut with the Old Globe Theater in San Diego and appeared in 16 Shakespeare plays in repertory over a four-year period. He appeared Off Broadway in "Desire Under the Elms" with George C. Scott and in the celebrated production of "Six Characters in Search of an Author," directed by William Ball. Relocating to London in 1970, he performed with the Royal Shakespeare Company and in the original West End productions of "The Boys in the Band" and "Fortune and Men's Eyes."

In 1974 Higgins moved to Johannesburg, where he directed and acted with the Market Theater. In 1975, he directed "Of Mice and Men," with Ken Gampu, the first government-approved multiethnic production in South African history, at the Lakeside Theater. In 1977, he directed the anti-apartheid play "Survival," with Seth Sibanda and David Kekana; the production toured to the U.K., Russia and the U.S. Returning to California in the late '70s, John directed the U.S. premiere of "The Biko Inquest," a play about the South African activist, at the Globe in San Diego, and the world premiere of Ken Kesey's "The Further Inquiry."

During the 1980s Higgins divided his time between England, the U.S. and Australia, directing new works "Two Without a Cause" (plays by Michael Weller and Israel Horovitz) in Sydney as well as Charles Marowitz's "The Shrew" and Woody Allen's "God" in London. In 1990, he directed a controversial musical production of "A Midsummer Night's Dream," set in the Haight-Ashbury District of San Francisco against the turbulence of the 1960s Civil Rights Movement. In the 1990s, he directed plays and musicals in San Francisco and Sacramento for the Eureka Company, the Spreckles Arts Center, Next Stage and the Alcazar Theater.

Higgins also appeared in more than a dozen movies, including "Phar Lap" and "The Revolutionary," and on TV.

Since returning to Australia in 2000, he served as an acting and dialect coach for the likes of Chris Hemsworth and Rose Byrne. He taught at the Ensemble Studios, National Institute of Dramatic Art, Stables Theater and Company B. He was in the process of preparing a revival of his musical on Bob Dylan called "Words and Music," and creating an updated version of "Midsummer Night's Dream," when he learned he had cancer.

John Edward Higgins Jr. was born in Sydney, the son of an American father and Australian mother. John and his younger brother, filmmaker Colin Higgins ("Harold and Maude," "Foul Play"), moved to the U.S. and settled in Atherton, Calif. John Higgins received a B.A. from San Jose State U. and an acting diploma from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London, and he served in the U.S. Navy in the early 1960s.

He is survived by his mother and brothers Gary, Brian, Barry and Dennis.

Wednesday, December 14, 2011

Susan Gordon was a child actress in film and on television. In 1959 she played Danny Kaye's daughter in The Five Pennies, Susan Walker in the tv movie version of Miracle On 34th St. She also had roles on Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Gunsmoke, and on an episode of The Twillight Zone entitled 'The Fugitive'. Her most famous role was as the disturbed teen aged daughter of Don Ameche in the 1966 cult classic Picture Mommy Dead. Susan Gordon died December 11, 2011 after a lengthy battle with cancer.

Tuesday, December 13, 2011

A celebration of the life of Marilyn O'Connor Davis, a longtime Thousand Oaks resident and a veteran actress, will take place Saturday in Simi Valley.

Davis, who moved to the Conejo Valley in 1965, died Nov. 13 at Simi Valley Hospital nine days after suffering a stroke.

She became ill at the United Church of Christ in Simi Valley while performing Nov. 4 in a fundraising cabaret of music and skits.

"It was pretty theatrical," said her daughter, Maripat Davis, who was also performing in the show.

"She was singing and dancing, and when she came offstage during one of her breaks, she complained of a headache. She went back onstage and did a tap dance, then came offstage, and her headache was worse, and she was feeling nauseous," Maripat Davis said.

Paramedics were called, and Marilyn Davis was taken to the hospital, where she died with her family at her bedside.

Born in Duluth, Minn., Davis made her Broadway debut as a teenager, her daughter said, and never stopped performing.

She appeared in the Broadway and National Touring Company productions of "South Pacific," "Miss Liberty" and "Finian's Rainbow," which is where she met her future husband, Charles Davis. They married in 1950.

She also performed in Las Vegas and in shows at the Los Angeles Civic Light Opera, the Greek Theatre and the Sacramento Music Circus, her family said.

She was a frequent guest star on TV shows, including "ER," "Frasier," "7th Heaven," "In Living Color," "MAD TV," "Matlock" and "Joey." She had recently completed appearances on "Raising Hope" and "American Horror Story."

Charles and Marilyn Davis brought the first musical production to the Conejo Players Theatre in Thousand Oaks in 1966, when they performed in "Finian's Rainbow." Charles Davis directed a revival of the show in 2006 in which he, his wife and their daughter performed.

The couple also appeared with their daughter as part of the Actors and Singers Studio in Thousand Oaks, which Charles and Maripat Davis co-founded.

Maripat Davis said her mother always felt young, still drove to Los Angeles and was in touch with her agent up until her death.

"She was just an amazing person. She was very passionate about her art, and she loved to make people laugh," she said.

"She also was a huge humanitarian and animal lover, and she did a lot of volunteer work for people."

In addition to her daughter, Marilyn Davis is survived by her son-in-law, Jon Gordon; son, Blaine O'Connor; and grandson, Patrick Gordon-Davis, 13. Charles Davis — an actor, writer and director — died in December 2009 at age 84.

A celebration of her life and work will be held at 2 p.m. at the United Church of Christ, 370 Royal Ave. The service will feature a slide show of her life, video clips from her film and TV work as well as music and tributes.

The family asks that in lieu of flowers, donations in Marilyn Davis' name be sent to the nonprofit animal rescue group Animal Resources, 682 Hacienda Drive, Camarillo, which is dedicated to saving shelter pets from euthanasia.

Monday, December 12, 2011

Argentine actor Alberto de Mendoza died at Clinica de la Luz in Madrid, Spain today December 12, 2011 from respiratory failure. De Mendoza was 88. De Mendoza, appeared in more than 200 films including three Euro-westerns: “A Bullet for Sandoval”, “The Forgotten Pistolero” and “When Satan Grips the Colt” all in 1969. Born Alberto Manuel Rodriguez Gallego Gonzáles de Mendoza on January 21, 1923 in Buenos Aires, Argentina, he will be cremated tomorrow at the Almudena cemetery in Madrid, where he had chosen to spend the last decades of his life.

Sunday, December 11, 2011

Stage, film and television actress Vida Jerman died suddenly yesterday in Zagreb, in the 72nd year of life.

Vida Jerman appeared in hundreds of theater roles, a number of achievements in Croatian films, but also a number of international film roles with actors such as Omar Sharif, Meryl Streep, Yula Brynner, James Coburn and others, reminds portal Croatian Cultural Council.

Vida Jerman was born in Zagreb on April 28,1939. She graduated in acting from the Academy of Dramatic Art, but she studied English, Italian and Spanish at the Faculty of Arts, and in acting circles stood for poliglota. Because of her support of this thesis is why she starred in “Esperanto”, and has promoted the universal language.

In October 1997, with a group of actors from Zagreb she founded a registered theater troupe Ponte (Bridge), for which she was the art director. Jerman was also a longtime member of the World Esperanto Association (UEA) and she was an expert delegate to the theater, and in June 1997, was awarded the Order of Croatian for her contribution to theater arts, and for special merit in presenting Croatian culture in the country and abroad.

For the last few decades Vida Jerman was a member of the Theatre Cherry and played in a series of performances for children and adolescents.

Friday, December 9, 2011

Dan “Bee” Spears, Willie Nelson’s bass player for more than four decades, has died at the age of 62. Spears’ girlfriend Dee Pearce said Spears slipped and fell while exiting his motor home near Nashville on Thursday night and died from exposure to the elements, KXAN reported.

Spears was born in San Antonio on August 11, 1949. He started playing bass for Willie Nelson at age 19, according to this birthday note on Nelson’s website.

We called Ray Benson, frontman of Asleep at the Wheel and a close friend of Spears for 38 years, to get his reaction.

“I’m just shocked. It’s not something you expect at all,” Benson told us. “But to paraphrase an old friend, Warren Zevon, ‘Enjoy every taco,’ because you just don’t know.”

“Bee was, no pun intended, the basis of Willie's sound,” Benson said. He said Spears’ traveling bass lines worked perfectly with Nelson’s guitar and said the band "basically grew that sound. It's the most eclectic individual sound you'll ever hear out of a band. You'll never hear another band sound like that."

Benson described Spears as “a funny guy. He was a smart guy. And like I said, he was Willie’s left hand."

In a Tweet, Willie Nelson expressed “sadness and shock” at Spears’ death. Nelson also posted this statement to his website:

We are deeply saddened by the death of Family member Dan "Bee" Spears, long time friend and bassist for Willie Nelson and Family.

We are still in shock and gathering details as the day continues. He apparently died of accidental exposure at his property near Nashville, Tennessee.

Wednesday, December 7, 2011

Harry Morgan, the prolific character actor best known for playing the acerbic but kindly Colonel Potter in the long-running television series “M*A*S*H,” died Wednesday morning at his home in Los Angeles. He was 96. His son Charles confirmed his death.

In more than 100 movies, Mr. Morgan played Western bad guys, characters with names like Rocky and Shorty, loyal sidekicks, judges, sheriffs, soldiers, thugs and police chiefs.

On television, he played Officer Bill Gannon with a phlegmatic but light touch to Jack Webb’s always-by-the-book Sgt. Joe Friday in the updated “Dragnet,” from 1967 to 1970. He starred as Pete Porter, a harried husband, in the situation comedy “Pete and Gladys” (1960-62), reprising a role he had played on “December Bride” (1954-59). He was also a regular on “The Richard Boone Show” (1963-64), “Kentucky Jones” (1964-65), “The D.A.” (1971-72), “Hec Ramsey” (1972-74) and “Blacke’s Magic” (1986).But to many fans he was first and foremost Col. Sherman T. Potter, commander of the 4077th Mobile Army Surgical Hospital unit in Korea. With a wry smile, flat voice and sharp humor, Mr. Morgan played Colonel Potter from 1975 to 1983, when “M*A*S*H” went off the air. He replaced McLean Stevenson, who had quit the series, moving into the role on the strength of his performance as a crazed major general in an early episode.

In an interview for the Archive of American Television, Mr. Morgan said of his “M*A*S*H” character: “He was firm. He was a good officer and he had a good sense of humor. I think it’s the best part I ever had.” Colonel Potter’s office had several personal touches. The picture on his desk was of Mr. Morgan’s wife, Eileen Detchon. To relax, the colonel liked to paint and look after his horse, Sophie — a sort of inside joke, since the real Harry Morgan raised quarter horses on a ranch in Santa Rosa. Sophie, to whom Colonel Potter says goodbye in the final episode, was Mr. Morgan’s own horse.

In 1980 his Colonel Potter earned him an Emmy Award as best supporting actor in a comedy series. During the shooting of the series’ final episode, he was asked about his feelings. “Sadness and an aching heart,” he replied

Harry Morgan was born Harry Bratsburg on April 10, 1915, in Detroit. His parents were Norwegian immigrants. After graduating from Muskegon High School, where he played varsity football and was senior class president, he intended to become a lawyer, but debating classes in his pre-law major at the University of Chicago stimulated his interest in the theater. He made his professional acting debut in a summer stock production of “At Mrs. Beam’s” in Mount Kisco, N.Y., and his Broadway debut in 1937 in the original production of “Golden Boy,” starring Luther Adler, in a cast that also included Karl Malden and Lee J. Cobb.

After moving to California in 1942, he was spotted by a talent scout in a Santa Barbara stock company’s production of William Saroyan’s one-act play “Hello Out There.” Signing a contract with 20th Century Fox, he originally used the screen name Henry Morgan, but changed Henry to Harry in the 1950s to avoid confusion with the radio and television humorist Henry Morgan.

Mr. Morgan attracted attention almost immediately. In “The Ox-Bow Incident” (1943), which starred Henry Fonda, he was praised for his portrayal of a drifter caught up in a lynching in a Western town. Reviewing “A Bell for Adano” (1945), based on John Hersey’s novel about the Army in a liberated Italian town, Bosley Crowther wrote in The New York Times that Mr. Morgan was “crude and amusing as the captain of M.P.’s.”

He went on to appear in “All My Sons” (1948), based on the Arthur Miller play, with Edward G. Robinson and Burt Lancaster; “The Big Clock” (1948), in which he played a silent, menacing bodyguard to Charles Laughton; “Yellow Sky” (1949), with Gregory Peck and Anne Baxter; and the critically praised western “High Noon” (1952), with Gary Cooper. Among his other notable films were “The Teahouse of the August Moon” (1956), with Marlon Brando and Glenn Ford, and “Inherit the Wind” (1960), with Spencer Tracy and Fredric March, in which he played a small-town Tennessee judge hearing arguments about evolution in the fictionalized version of the Scopes “monkey trial.” In “How the West Was Won” (1962), he played Gen. Ulysses S. Grant.

After a personable performance as Glenn Miller’s pianist, Chummy MacGregor, in “The Glenn Miller Story” (1954), starring James Stewart, he often played softer characters as well as his trademark hard-bitten tough guys. There were eventually a number of comedies on his résumé, among them “John Goldfarb, Please Come Home” (1965), with Shirley MacLaine and Peter Ustinov; “The Flim-Flam Man” (1967), with George C. Scott; “Support Your Local Sheriff!” (1969), with James Garner and Walter Brennan; and “The Apple Dumpling Gang” (1975), a Disney movie with Tim Conway and Don Knotts.

He returned as Bill Gannon, by now promoted to captain, in the 1987 movie “Dragnet,” a comedy remake of the series starring Dan Aykroyd and Tom Hanks.

Mr. Morgan’s television credits were prodigious. He once estimated that in one show or another, he was seen in prime time for 35 straight years. Regarded as one of the busiest actors in the medium, he had continuing roles in at least 10 series, which, combined with his guest appearances, amounted to hundreds of episodes. He reprised the role of Sherman Potter in “AfterMASH” (1983-85), a short-lived spinoff.

Among the later shows on which he appeared as a guest star were “The Love Boat, “ “3rd Rock From the Sun,” “You Can’t Take It With You,” “Murder, She Wrote” and “The Jeff Foxworthy Show.”

Mr. Morgan’s first wife, Eileen Detchon, died in 1985 after 45 years of marriage. He is survived by his wife, Barbara Bushman, whom he married in 1986; three sons from his first marriage, Christopher, Charles and Paul; and eight grandchildren. A fourth son, Daniel, died in 1989. Mr. Morgan lived in the Brentwood section of Los Angeles.

His son Charles, a lawyer in Los Angeles, said in a telephone interview that he would marvel at his father’s photographic memory. “My dad would read a script the way somebody else would read Time magazine and put it down and be on the set the next day,” he said.

But Harry Morgan never sat as a guest on a talk show, Charles Morgan said ; it did not seem appropriate or necessary. “Appearing on a talk show to focus on himself because he was Harry Morgan,” he said, “was not nearly as natural as appearing in a role as Pete Porter or Bill Gannon or Colonel Potter, or as the cowboy drifter who wandered into town with Henry Fonda and got wrapped up in a vigilante brigade in ‘Ox-Bow Incident.’ ”

About Me

Born in Toledo, Ohio in 1946 I have a BA degree in American History from Cal St. Northridge. I've been researching the American West and western films since the early 1980s and visiting filming sites in Spain and the U.S.A. Elected a member of the Spaghetti Western Hall of Fame 2010.